How Many Yards Will Watson Pass For In 2017?

Of all the quarterbacks taken in the NFL draft, none are in a better position to make an immediate impact than Deshaun Watson. The Houston Texans paid a pretty penny to move up and select the Clemson signal-caller and the QB depth chart for the team is laughably thin.

Now, coach Bill O’Brien has reiterated that Tom Savage is the Texans’ starting quarterback but he is a stopgap at best. Nobody really expects Savage to hold off Watson for the entire season – hell, he may not even make it through the preseason. So, what should fans and bettors expect from Watson in his rookie campaign?

The total for Watson’s passing yards this season has been set at 1375.5 (-115/-115) at online sportsbook Intertops. In the past three seasons, nine rookie quarterbacks would have surpassed that number with seven of them playing at least 12 games.

Watson’s best time to step into the starting lineup may come after the Texans’ Week 3 game against the New England Patriots. At that point, Houston plays three straight home games against teams that finished no better than 18th against the pass last season, followed by a bye week. That would, in theory, put Watson on the field for 13 games.

Houston quarterbacks averaged just 199 passing yards per game last season. Even if Watson continued that trend, which would be on pace for one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL, he would only need to start seven games to surpass 1375 passing yards.

We can’t be sure. Maybe Watson will be really slow to learn an NFL offense or maybe Tom Savage will shock us all and play some amazing football. But, looking at the situation now, Watson passing for at least 1376 yards as a rookie seems very manageable.

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